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MEMO: Scott Walker’s Failed Leadership on Jobs

From: Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of WisconsinTo: Interested PartiesDate: September 10, 2014Re: Scott Walker’s Failed Leadership on Jobs

It’s the issue on every Wisconsinite’s mind ahead of the November elections: jobs.

In his first four years as Governor, Scott Walker had the opportunity to lead – to get Wisconsin back on its feet, creating jobs and a thriving economy. But instead, metric after metric has shown that Walker has failed and Wisconsin’s economy is lagging.

He put politics before budgeting, upended the state, sparked off mass unrest, and claimed it was all in the name of fiscal responsibility. Three years later, we are left with huge cuts to education, large giveaways to out of state corporations and a massive, growing deficit.

As Walker gives an update on the state of Wisconsin’s economy today, here are three points he should address:

A 250,000 Jobs PromiseIn 2010, Scott Walkermade a promiseto the people of Wisconsin to create 250,000 jobs by the end of his first term. He’s failed. He’s not even half way to reaching his goal. In fact, Wisconsin actually lost 1,900 private sector jobs in June and was one of only five states to lose jobs in May and June.

Should Wisconsinites hold Walker accountable for his failed jobs promise? Walker himself in 2010 said they “absolutely” should.

And RNC Chair Reince Priebus absolutely agrees. Last month at a Red State Convention in Fort Worth, Priebus said “we need people of their word who make a promise and then go govern like they campaigned.”

This week, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau reported that under Scott Walker, Wisconsin faces a nearly $1.8 billion structural deficitheading into the next budget cycle. This deficit is likely to get worse and does not count additional shortfalls in Wisconsin’s transportation fund of nearly $700 million that will also have to be addressed in the upcoming budget.

Scott Walker, like many Republican Governors, campaigned in 2010 as a fiscal hawk, ready to make tough decision to fix the states ballooning deficit. But in fact, the opposite happened. As other states have seen their economic fortunes rise, Wisconsin is getting worse.

Irresponsible tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy, misguided spending, and refusing federal funds to strengthen Medicaid clearly hasn’t worked. This is just the latest example of Scott Walker’s mismanagement of the state’s finances.

Private-Sector Job Growth

Under Walker, Wisconsin dropped more than 25 places in private-sector job growth – from 11th to 37th. And under Scott Walker, Wisconsin is ranked dead last, 10 out of 10, among states in the Midwest on job growth during his time in office.

In addition, during Walker’s time in office, Wisconsin has trailed the nation in annual private sector job growth averaging 1.35% compared to 2.2% nationally.

But perhaps the most staggering number that Scott Walker does not want to talk about is 50,000. At the end of Mary Burke’s tenure as Commerce Secretary, approximately 50,000 more Wisconsin workers had jobs than under Walker.

There is no doubt about it, this election will be about jobs. And while being at the center of a “criminal scheme” probably doesn’t help Walker, in the end, his failure to create an environment that fosters economic growth for the state will ultimately be the reason why Wisconsin voters replace him and elect a Governor with the job creating credentials the state needs and deserves.